Cooper’s Hawks are small to medium sized birds with the males being significantly smaller than the females.
Both male and female hawks have very short, round wings, with an accompanying short tail.
However, adult hawks are gray and have pastel, orange colored barring, and immatures are brown. Cooper’s Hawks are much more common in Iowa than in the past years.
This is estimated to be due to an increase in urbanization over the past years. Iowa residents commonly hang bird feeders in their backyards, offering Cooper’s Hawks the opportunity to prey on yardbirds.
These hawks have now become popular visitors in many urban areas in the state.
Though you can now spot these hawks in the city, they also take habitat in forests, woodlands, and mountains.
Cooper’s Hawks are generally a bit quiet, especially during breeding season. However, you can still hear their ‘cak-cak-cak’ call during this time.
These hawks breed near forests and sometimes in residential areas.
Interestingly, males display submissive behavior as they fly in large, slow arcs until the female calls out for reassurance before approaching.